Disney settles antitrust suit over anti-poaching practices

Pixar and Lucasfilm Ltd. have tentatively agreed to settle a lawsuit that accuses them of violating antitrust law with their recruiting policies.

A group of tech workers sued the two Walt Disney Co. units for allegedly entering into agreements with competitors in which they promised not to recruit each other’s employees. The plaintiffs argued that these deals constituted a conspiracy “to fix and suppress the compensation of their employees,” according to Bloomberg.

Last week, the two companies told U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh that they have reached a settlement, which they will present to the court “in the near future.”

Koh recently denied class certification to plaintiffs in the case[SBM1] . But businesses should still be wary before engaging in such practices: In 2010, the Department of Justice found that Apple, Google, Adobe, Intel, Intuit, Lucasfilm and Pixar’s practices were a restraint of trade, and subsequently reached an undisclosed settlement with the defendants.